


The Mental Breakdown of Halligan G. Kennedy and Mikey Way and Pete Wentz's Involvement Therein

by orphan_account



Category: Bandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Fluff, M/M, literally nothing bad happens, petekeysecretsanta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 09:03:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5579527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or, a petekey summer camp au</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Mental Breakdown of Halligan G. Kennedy and Mikey Way and Pete Wentz's Involvement Therein

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chameleon_666](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chameleon_666/gifts).



> This was written for the petekeysecretsanta, as created by tumblr user sweetsummeroflike. It's a gift for ao3 user chameleon_666 aka tumblr user descrtsong. I hope you like it Camille, you're lovely. Everyone else, enjoy! If you want to find me elsewhere, I'm on tumblr @theorangewitch and 8tracks at @orangewitch.

**Week 1**

His backpack balanced on one shoulder, Mikey stumbled into the cabin. Closely behind him, heaving with the weight, was his brother, struggling with his duffle bag. As soon as he was inside, Gerard dropped the bag and doubled over with his hands on his knees. 

Mikey gave him a look and said, “You should work on your upper body strength.”

“Fuck you,” Gerard panted, “What’d you put in that thing? A dead body?”

Mikey rolled his eyes. “Three, actually.” He pulled his sleeping bag out of the duffle and looked around. Most of the beds appeared to have been already claimed, though there was no one else in the cabin. He chose the bottom bunk of the bed closest to the door, as it appeared to be untaken and rolled out his sleeping bag on top of it. 

“Hey,” Gerard said, placing his hand on Mikey’s shoulder. “You gonna be okay here for three weeks?”

“I’ll be fine. I’m not a little kid,” Mikey brushed him off. Jeez. 

“Mom and Dad are worried about you, you know,” Gerard told him. 

“I’ll call every evening, and I’m sure that if I go missing the camp will let them know. Seriously, I’m fine,” Mikey replied, giving his brother a grin that he hoped conveyed confidence. 

Just then, a counselor popped his head through the door. “Hey,” he greeted them. “I’m Hal. I’m the counselor for this cabin. You must be Mikey.”

Mikey nodded. 

Hal turned to Gerard. “And you’re Mikey’s...dad?” 

Gerard’s eyes narrowed. “Brother.” 

“Ah,” Hal said, “My mistake. C’mon, Mikey. Everyone else in the cabin’s outside getting to know each other.”

“Call me tonight,” Gerard said. 

“Will do,” Mikey replied. “Bye.”

Gerard then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Mikey. “I’m gonna miss you,” he said.

“Me too,” Mikey told him, before following Hal outside. 

Hal led him to a cluster of kids standing in the center of the ring of cabins. Most were standing around awkwardly, looking at either their shoes or their phones, but there was a group of three who were chatting animatedly with one another. In the center of this group was a short-ish kid with dark hair and a big smile. Mikey’s eyes instantly locked onto him; he couldn’t help but stare. He was throwing his arms outward as he spoke until he had his arm locked around one of the other kids’ neck. Then he laughed, loud enough to carry across the whole camp, Mikey was sure. Mikey instantly wanted to be friends with him, he knew that. He’d never exactly had a hard time making friends, but it was always easier with kids like this, kids who were could laugh at anything and knew just about everybody. 

Hal cleared his throat. “Alright everybody, circle up. We’re gonna learn everybody’s names. I want you to go around, say your name, where you’re from, and if you were an animal, what you would be. I’ll start. I’m Halligan Kennedy, but you can call me Hal. I’m from Dorset, Vermont, and if I were an animal, I’d be a jaguar. We’ll go counterclockwise.”

A boy on Halley’s left began. “I’m Parker, I’m from Annapolis, Maryland, and if I were an animal, I’d be a blue jay.”

After a few more turns, one of the kids who had been speaking with the smiley kid went. “I’m Gabe,” he introduced himself with a smile, “I’m from NYC, and if I were and animal, I’d be a cobra!” He then proceeded to hiss, causing the kids he’d been talking to to giggle. 

Then smiley kid went. “I’m Pete,” he said, glancing around the circle. He briefly locked eyes with Mikey, flashing him a grin. Mikey’s stomach flipped over. “I’m from Chicago, and if I were an animal, I’d be a bat, ‘cause I’m a flying creature of the night.” Pete looked around proudly. 

The other kid whom Pete and Gabe were talking to went next. “I’m Brendon,” he said, “I’m from Las Vegas, and I’d be a coyote.” 

Mikey was one of the last to introduce himself. “I’m Mikey,” he said, twisting his hands in his pockets. “I’m from New Jersey, and if I were an animal, I’d be a moth, because I’m mostly harmless, cute, slightly annoying, and attracted to strong light sources.” He was pretty sure he was cute, anyway. There was a girl back home who’d told him so once, not to mention his parents. 

A little wave of giggles fluttered around the circle, and Pete caught his eye again. This time, however, he spoke. “I just met you, but I don’t think you’re annoying.”

Mikey told himself that Pete’s opinion didn’t really matter, because he didn’t know Mikey, well, at all, but he couldn’t help but feel a little boost of confidence. 

  
*

 

Once they finished introducing themselves and Hal had gone over the camp rules, they went back inside the cabin to unpack and hang out before dinner. Mikey was one of the first back in the cabin, plopping down on the dusty floor. He was sorting through his clothes when he felt a tap on his shoulder. 

“Hi,” Pete said, “Mikey, right?”

“Yep,” Mikey replied. Pete’s smile was even bigger up close.

“You sleeping here?” he asked, tapping on the iron bed frame.

“Yep,” Mikey repeated. 

“Sweet!” Pete exclaimed. “I’m up top. That means we’re bunk mates.” Pete then proceeded to scramble up the bed and plop down on the top bunk before tossing his duffle bag over the edge, almost hitting Mikey in the head. “Is it your first time here?”

“Yep,” Mikey said, and  _ wow,  _ he should probably stop repeating the same word over and over in front of someone he wanted to impress. 

“Mine too,” Pete said. 

That surprised Mikey. From the way Pete had been acting with those two other guys, Gabe and Brendon, he’d assumed that they knew each other from somewhere. But how could they know each other if they lived far away from one another? Mikey made a split-second decision and asked Pete, “Do you know Gabe and Brendon from somewhere?” 

“What? No, I-” Pete began, confused. “Oh, right, ‘cause we’re friends already. They’re just cool guys, and they think I’m cool too, so now we’re friends. I think you’re cool, too.” 

At that, Mikey looked from his duffle and up at Pete, who was grinning down at him from the top bunk. Mikey made another split-second decision and grinned back.

  
  


Even in the evening, it could hardly be considered cold, but Pete had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders anyway. 

Gabe laughed at him. “How the hell are you cold? You’re from Chicago, it’s not exactly warm there.”

“Shut up,” Pete muttered, burying himself further in his blanket. 

That’s how Mikey found him, sitting on the floor with his blanket around his shoulders before lights out. Mikey looked down at him, and asked, “Is that a Star Trek blanket?”

“Yeah!” Pete replied, instantly sitting up. “You like Star Trek?”

Mikey nodded. 

“Awesome!” he exclaimed, standing up and turning to face Mikey. “I made this myself. Or, I hemmed it, at least. It’s really soft, feel it.” Before Mikey could reach out, though, Pete was wrapping his arms around Mikey’s shoulders, enveloping Mikey in the blanket. And  _ wow,  _ the blanket really was soft, and warm too, or maybe that was Pete’s body heat, Mikey couldn’t tell. “Isn’t it soft?” Pete asked, releasing Mikey from his grasp.

“It is,” Mikey agreed. Pete was next to a total stranger, and Mikey wasn’t used to receiving hugs from people he didn’t know. But it was a nice hug, and Mikey suddenly wanted to hug Pete again. 

  
  


“Let me tell you about the Mormons on a plane,” Brendon said, sitting down with the group to eat lunch.

“Aren’t you Mormon?” Gabe asked. “So technically, every time you and your family get on a flight, there’re Mormons on a plane.” 

“Yeah, but in this case there were a shitload,” Brendon began.

“Language, Urie,” Pete laughed, “No swearing. It’s one of the three rules.”

“Yeah,” Mikey added, “No swearing, no PDA, and stay hydrated.”

“The swearing one’s the only one I actually have a problem with,” Gabe told them, “Some of these kids just come to camp to make out with their summer girlfriends. And I can drink all the water I want. Hydrate or diedrate, y’know?”

Brendon sighed. “Can we please get back to my story?”

“Fine,” Pete said, waving his hand. “Tell us about the Mormons on a plane.” 

“One time, I was going to Salt Lake City with my dad,” Brendon began. “And we were at McCarran International, and we were getting on the plane, and there were all these Mormons, y’know? They were all flying back to Salt Lake together, ‘cause they were coming back from their missions. That’s when Mormons pair up and go out and try t-”

“We know what a mission is,” Pete said, “Keep going.”

“Anyway,” Brendon continued, “On the plane, it was just my dad, me, and all these Mormons coming back from their missions. Nobody else on the whole plane. So, they were sitting together in pairs, right? ‘Cause Mormons, y’know they always travel in pairs.”

“Where’s your partner, then?” Mikey asked, raising an eyebrow.

Brendon rolled his eyes. “Anyway, they were all in pairs, except I noticed something. There was one dude who was sitting by himself. I knew  _ that  _ couldn’t be right, so I went up to him and asked him where his partner was. Guess what he said?” 

“What’d he say?” Gabe asked. 

“He said,” Brendon began, looking around the table and grinning, “and I quote, ‘My mission companion was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for having homosexual relations with a village member.’”

The table erupted into laughter. “No way,” Pete said, “You’re making that up!”

“I absolutely am not,” Brendon said proudly. 

“How do you live as a Mormon?” Gabe asked in wonder. “It must be crazy. I don’t even know how I’d live as a  _ Christian _ .” 

“Trust me, Gabe,” Brendon sighed, “I ask myself that question every single day.” 

  
  


“Package for Mikey Way,” Hal announced, waltzing into the cabin. 

“Oh, sweet,” Mikey said, taking the brown cardboard box from Hal’s hands. “This is all the shit I forgot at home.”

“What shit?” Gabe asked, looking up. 

“Soap and my hair straightener, I think,” Mikey said, attacking the tape on the box with his fingernails. He hadn’t taken a shower so far at camp because he wouldn’t be able to straighten his hair again if he did. Now he’d be able to. He finally split the box open to reveal a thing of body soap and his straightener wrapped in its cord. Accompanying it were a bag of buttersnap pretzels and a tupperware container of brownies. “Awesome,” Mikey commented, pulling the food out. 

“Are those brownies?” Pete asked, immediately perking up. 

Mikey nodded, and before he could say anything else Pete had snatched the brownies from his hands and pried open the container. 

“Jesus Christ, Pete,” Brendon sighed, “Let the man have his brownies.” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Pete said, sliding the brownies back across the floor towards Mikey. “Sorry dude.”

“I’m not gonna eat them all myself,” Mikey snorted. “But I do get to have at least three before I pass the container around.”

“Yes!” Brendon punches the air. “Brownies!”

Pete lies down on the floor with his head near Mikey’s knee. He then looked up at Mikey and said, “Mikeyway?”

“Yeah?” Mikey asked.

“You’re the best.”

  
  


“I fucking hate this hike,” Grabe groaned, slapping his palm to his face. 

“Watch your mouth, Saporta,” Hal called from the front of the group. “This is a cabin bonding activity, enjoy it.”

“More like a cabin suffering activity,” Gabe muttered. 

“Chill out,” Pete said, nudging Gabe with his shoulder. “It’s a nice day.”

“It’s hot!” Gabe protested, “There isn’t enough shade on this trail!”

“The trail is literally surrounded by trees,” Mikey pointed out, gesturing around them. “There is nothing  _ but  _ shade here.”

“Hey Hal!” Gabe called, ignoring Mikey’s comment. “When’re we gonna get to go swim in the lake?” 

“Next week,” Hal answered, “If you quit complaining.”

“Pfft,” Gabe snorted, “Complain? Me? When?”

Pete made eye contact with Mikey and the two exchanged eye rolls. Mikey, for one, was enjoying the hike. When he’d asked if he could go away for the summer, his parents had been skeptical. Mikey had managed to convince them with a load of bullshit about “character development” and “the great outdoors”. Of course, he didn’t give two shits about either of those things. The real reason was that Gerard would be out of town all summer, and Mikey didn’t want to be spending all his time in an empty house. Besides, they didn’t get weather like this up in Jersey. 

“Shit, Mikey, look!” Pete said, tugging on Mikey’s sleeve. He pointed to a giant Magnolia tree with the branches sloping nearly to the ground. “I’m gonna climb it.”

“Is that allowed?” Brendon asked, butting into the conversation. 

Pete grinned. “I guess we’re gonna find out.” Pete then darted away from the group and onto a lower branch, scampering up the tree from there. 

It wasn’t long before Hal shouted, “Pete! Get down from there!”

“Why?” Pete asked. He was nearly halfway to the top. 

“I’m supposed to say that it’s damaging for the tree, but it’s really because of our liability insurance,” Hal sighed. 

“Fine,” Pete said in mock frustration. He then sat down on his tree branch and slid off feet first, hitting the ground with a painful  _ thud.  _ “Ouch,” Pete said, scrunching up his face. “My ankles.” 

“Shouldn’t have been up in the tree, asshole,” Brendon pointed out. 

“Fuck you, I was impressive,” Pete retorted. “You were impressed, right Mikeyway?” 

Mikey raised an eyebrow. “So impressed.” 

Pete narrowed his eyes. “I’m sensing some sarcasm.”

“Nope, no sarcasm,” Mikey deadpanned. “I was impressed. I’m still impressed. This is my impressed face.”

“You’re the worst,” Pete groaned, punching Mikey lightly in the shoulder. 

  
  


**Week 2**

There were group trips to the bathroom in the morning and at night, so that everyone could take showers, use the bathroom, and brush their teeth. “Showers are optional until you start to stink,” Hal said at the start of camp, “Then they become mandatory.” Mikey unpacked his toiletry bag, setting out his toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant out beside the sink. 

Pete approached the sink as well, eyeing Mikey’s stuff. “Is that girl’s deodorant?” Pete asked, turning to Mikey.

“Yes,” Mikey told him, glaring at Pete and shoving his toothbrush in his mouth. “My mah bawh’ ih foh’ me,” Mikey said, his mouth full of toothpaste. He spit into the sink. “It’s better than that Axe shit that you use.”

“Language!” Hal called over the noise of the bathroom. 

“My ‘Axe shit’ is fine,” Pete retorted. He then picked up the deodorant and examined it. “It’s called ‘Kiss My Face,’ eh? Alright.”

Before Mikey could reply, Pete leaned up and pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek. Mikey instantly went bright red. Good  _ lord,  _ Pete was certainly...affectionate. Mikey’d noticed it before, but not like this. Of course, Pete was like that with  _ everyone,  _ right? It didn’t mean that Pete actually liked him. 

Mikey’s thoughts were interrupted by Hal’s voice. “Pete Wentz!  _ No  _ PDA is permitted!” 

“It was just a kiss on the cheek, Hal, c’mon,” Pete replied easily. “That’s hardly PDA. Zack’s probably out behind one of the girl’s cabins right now macking on that blonde chick with the freckles.”

“Just stay out of Mikey Way’s personal space, okay?” Hal asked, obviously exasperated. 

Pete shrugged. “Depends on if Mikey wants me to stay out of his personal space. Mikey, do you want me out of your personal space? Because if you do, I will never Kiss Your Face again. Scout’s honor.”

Mikey had no idea what to say. On the one hand, he’d probably get in trouble for encouraging Pete’s affection, but on the other, he most definitely did not want it to stop. 

“Are you even a scout?” Gabe asked, buying Mikey a few more seconds. 

“I was when I was like...seven,” Pete answered. “I’ll keep my word, is what I mean. Mikey?”

“It’s fine,” Mikey said, after checking to see if Hal’s attention was still on them. “You don’t have to stay out of my bubble if you don’t want to.”

“Sweet!” Pete exclaimed, punching the air before practically tackling Mikey in a hug. 

  
  


The lake wasn’t exactly large, but it was  _ beautiful.  _ It was surrounded by woods and filled with fish. 

“You’re not allowed to go any further than the blue rope,” Hal told them, pointing. “We can’t have you drowning.”

Brendon nudged Gabe and asked, “Are you gonna try and go beyond the blue rope?”

Gabe grinned and nodded. “Of course. I’m not a square.”

Mikey figured he’d join them until he got in the water. Even though the temperature was ninety-plus degrees it was hard to believe that the water wasn’t frozen. Mikey stepped in and his blood turned to ice, goosebumps racing up his arms. 

Brendon stuck his toe in, and yelped before racing back up the beach. “Hal!” he yelled, “It’s cold!”

“It’s nice once you get used to it,” Hal called from his lifeguard’s chair.

Brendon shook his head. “Nuh-uh. I’m not getting used to it, ‘cause I’m not getting back in. No way.”

“Pussy,” Gabe laughed before jumping cannonball-style off the dock. “The cold’s got nothing on me!” he spluttered when he came up for air. “What’re you doing Mikey?”

Mikey was squatting so that the four feet of water came up to his neck. “I’m getting used to the temperature,” he replied, “It’s better than jumping right in.”

“I’m with Mikey,” Pete said, appearing next to him. “It’s nicer to warm up before going deeper.”

Mikey raised and eyebrow. “That’s what she said.” 

Pete splashed him. 

  
  


“I’m too Jewish for this,” Gabe muttered as they bowed their heads for evening prayer. 

“Not their fault your parents signed you up for a camp run by the Young Men’s Christian Association,” Brendon pointed out. 

“Doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it,” Gabe replied before Hal shushed him loudly. Gabe stuck his tongue out at Hal and then bowed his head. 

After the prayer, dinner was served. All the kids lined up at the buffet, filling their plates with steaming piles of stew, carrots, and applesauce. “Y’know, they should really start serving vegetarian options here,” Pete pointed out. “They’re excluding potential customers. I have this friend and he won’t go anywhere unless they have at least three vegetarian options.”

“I have a friend who’s vegetarian too,” Mikey said. “He’s nice, you’d like him.”

“So he’s not an obnoxious vegetarian?” Pete asked. 

“Nope.”

“My friend is,” Pete laughed, scooping on another serving of applesauce. “But you’d like him, too, I think.” 

The two sat down across from Gabe and Brendon, both of whom were already chowing down. 

“This stew is kinda lame,” Gabe remarked, his mouth full of it. “My mom’s is better.”

“Are you kidding?” Brendon said, shoving more in his mouth. “This is ten times better than any of the shit my mom spits out.” 

“You make it sound like your mom is a penguin, chewing up food then spitting it back out for you,” Pete said. 

Mikey scrunched up his face. “Ew.”

Pete shrugged, grinning up at Mikey. “It’s what I’m here for. Speaking of which…” Pete fumbled his way into his back pocket and pulls out a ballpoint pen. He then leaned over and pressed the tip to Mikey’s upper arm. 

“What are you doing?” Mikey asked, squinting down at him. 

Pete didn’t respond, only continued writing. Finally, he set down the pen and announced, “Done!”

Mikey looked down to find a little heart doodled on his arm with the letters “P + M” doodled inside. Mikey gave a confused chuckle. “Why’d you do that?” 

“Because you and me are meant to be Mikeyway, can’t you see?” Pete answered, looking at Mikey with round eyes and a toothy grin. 

Brendon cocked his head. “That’s not gay at all.”

“Pete, you’re violating the no-PDA rule again,” Gabe said. Gabe leaned over and tugged on Hal’s sleeve. “Hal, tell Pete to stop violating the no-PDA rule.”

“Pete, stop violating the no-PDA rule,” Hal said, “And leave Mikey alone.”

“How’d you know it was Mikey?” Pete asked. 

“Who else would it’ve been?” Brendon sighed. 

Mikey slung an arm over Pete’s shoulder. “Pete, don’t leave me alone.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Pete replied, “Not in this universe, anyway.”

Gabe collapsed his head on the table. “Can you two seriously just get a room, ‘cause this is honestly the worst.” 

  
  


Gabe and Brendon caught up to Mikey on their walk back from the dining hall that night. “So,” Gabe began. “Are you asking Pete to the dance next week?” 

“What dance?” Mikey asked. 

“The camp dance!” Brendon replied. “Next Friday. Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”

“I didn’t know,” Mikey said, “And why would I ask Pete? Is it even the type of dance that you ask people to?”

“That’s every type of dance,” Brendon pointed out. 

“And you should ask Pete because you have a giant crush on him, and he has a giant crush on you, and everyone here can see it from a mile away,” Gabe informed him. “Hal’s even stopped calling you on your constant PDA because he thinks you’re cute together. I still think it’s disgusting, but that’s just me.”

“You really think I should ask him?” Mikey asked. Pete had been flirting with him, but Pete was a flirty person, there was no way it was Mikey. 

“I know you should,” Brendon said, patting him on the shoulder. 

“What about you guys? Are you asking people?” Mikey asked. 

“Brendon over here has a schoolgirl crush on Sarah from Cabin 12,” Gabe informed Mikey, nudging Brendon’s shoulder. 

Brendon blushed and added, “And Gabe totally thinks the skinny dude from Cabin 5 is hot.”

“‘Cause he is,” Gabe retorted. 

“He looks like a twink,” Brendon pointed out. 

“Exactly my type, then,” Gabe said brightly. 

Just then, Pete appeared behind them. “What’re you guys talking about?” 

“Who we’re taking to the dance next week,” Brendon said. “Gabe has dibs on the twink next door. Who’re you asking?” Brendon said, making eye contact with Mikey. Mikey placed his hands behind his back in order to stop himself from twiddling his thumbs. 

Pete shrugged. “Dunno. Kinda wasn’t planning on going at all. I wanted to do laundry before we go home on Saturday.”

“Whaaaaaaat?” Gabe exclaimed. “You can’t not go. You can do laundry on Wednesday or Thursday.”

Pete shrugged again. “I’ll think about it.” They’d arrived at the cabin, and Pete and Brendon disappeared inside, but Gabe grabbed Mikey’s sleeve, preventing him from joining them. 

“Dude,” Gabe said, “You have to ask him or else he’s not gonna go.” 

“How do I ask him? And when?” Mikey asked. “I’ve never asked someone to a dance before.”

“I’m asking William on Monday, you can ask Pete when I ask him,” Gabe replied. 

“William?”

“Twink guy.”

“Right.” 

  
  


Mikey liked to take his showers in the morning because it was what woke him up before breakfast. He hauled his crate of soap and hair products to the bathroom and took his shower, and he was standing in front of the mirror straightening his hair when Pete approached him. 

“What’s this?” Pete asked, picking up Mikey’s bottle of body soap. 

“Body soap,” Mikey told him. 

“You use liquid? I’ve always used bars,” Pete said. “‘Touch of Sparkle’,” Pete read aloud. “Are all of your toiletries women’s toiletries?”

“I told you, my mom buys them, and I’m clean either way, so I really don’t give two shits about what gender they’re marketed to,” Mikey replied. 

Pete nodded. “Fair point.” He picked up the bottle. “So does it actually sparkle? Because if it does I am absolutely borrowing your soap for the rest of camp, Mikeyway.” 

“It doesn’t, unfortunately,” Mikey sighed. “I told Mom that we should sue for false advertising, but she wouldn’t do it.” 

“That’s terrible,” Pete gasped. “If I were your mom I’d be raising hell. This company is shit and this soap is shit.” He then raised the bottle above his head and threw it to the floor, causing it to skitter across the tile. “Eat shit, Touch of Sparkle!” he yelled, laughing, a little too loudly. 

“Wentz!” Hal cried, scandalized. “Language!”

“Sorry,” Pete said, but he was trying to stifle a fit of giggles. 

“Pick up Mikey’s soap,” Hal ordered, a hint of exhaustion in voice. 

“Fine, fine,” Pete conceded. He walked over and picked the soap off the ground. By then the whole cabin was watching, and Gabe, Brendon, and Mikey were in stitches. Pete made his way back over to Mikey leaned up against the bathroom counter. Pete squirted a bit of the soap into his palm and examined it. “Man, it really doesn’t sparkle. Like, at all.”

“Told you,” Mikey said. 

Pete dipped his finger in the soap and then wiped it on Mikey’s cheek. “There. Touch of Sparkle.” 

Mikey laughed. “Only without the sparkle.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t wanna just say ‘touch,’” Pete explained, “That’d make me sound like a horny middle schooler.”

“You are a horny middle schooler,” Mikey told him. 

“Takes one to know one,” Pete said, “And also? Shut up.” Pete then slapped his soap-covered hand on MIkey’s shoulder. 

“Ewwww,” Mikey exclaimed, trying to wipe the soap off. “It looks like you jizzed on my shoulder.”

Pete grinned. “And that’s bad...how, exactly?” 

“Fuck you,” Mikey spat, but he was grinning. 

“Maybe later,” Pete said. 

“Pete, Mikey!” Hal called, “Please try to keep your conversations camp appropriate.” 

“No promises,” Pete replied. 

Hal sighed audibly. 

  
  


It was late at night, and Mikey couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence, and Mikey was surprised that he hadn’t had a bout of insomnia since he’d gotten to camp. It had nearly been two weeks; that was a record. He was snuggled inside his sleeping bag, twisting around inside, trying to get comfortable and failing. Every little noise bugged the ever-living shit out of him, from Parker’s snores two bunks over to Pete’s rustling above his head to the crickets chirping away outside. 

“Mikey!” A loud whisper almost made Mikey jump out of his skin. He flipped over to discover Pete hanging upside down off the top bunk. 

“Pete, holy shit,” Mikey whispered back. 

“I knew you’d be awake,” Pete said. 

“How?” 

“I just knew. Can I come down?” Pete asked. 

“Of course,” Mikey replied, wiggling over to one side of the bed to make room for Pete. “Hang on, I can unzip my sleeping bag and turn it into a comforter for the both of us.” 

“Awesome,” Pete said, sliding into Mikey’s bunk. 

Mikey unzipped the sleeping bag and threw it over the two of them. “So what’re you doing up?” he asked. 

“Parker’s snoring,” Pete replied. 

“That bad, huh?”

“Nah,” Pete laughed. “I have insomnia. You?”

“Me too.”

“You and I get more and more similar every day,” Pete remarked. He then flipped over to face Mikey. “Hey, sorry if this is weird, but do you wanna spoon? Just for a little while?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Mikey agreed, his voice steady. Maybe he should be freaking out, but he wasn’t. 

“I’m big spoon,” Pete said. 

“Really?” Mikey asked. “You’re shorter than me.”

“It’s called jetpacking, I read about it online, it works.” 

Mikey shrugged and flipped over and Pete wrapped his arms around Mikey’s waist. The heat of another body spread over him, and he was way more comfortable than he had been a minute ago. Pete sighed into Mikey’s neck and Mikey figured that Pete felt the same way. They didn’t talk after that, just laid there together, breathing in unison. 

Finally, Pete said, “I should leave before I fall asleep, if Hal finds us like this in the morning he’ll think we fucked.”

“Then we’ll get kicked out,” Mikey added. The two sat up and stared at each other for a moment. 

“Good night, Mikeyway,” Pete murmured. He then leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Mikey’s forehead before disappearing back to his bunk. 

Mikey fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. 

  
  


**Week 3**

On Monday morning Gabe shook Mikey awake. “Hey, get up! Get up! Today’s the day!”

Mikey rolled over and groaned. “Today’s what day?”

“The day you and I get dates to the dance!” 

Oh. Shit. Mikey was fairly certain of his and Pete’s mutual crushes on each other by this point, but making it official was a whole different issue. 

“C’mon, get up,” Gabe said, tugging on Mikey’s sleeve. “We’re asking them after breakfast.” 

That gave Mikey a good hour to prepare himself. It sucked that he was probably gonna need at least three. 

At breakfast Gabe announced his plan to ask William from Cabin 5 to the dance. Brendon clapped him on the back. “And,” Gabe added, “Mikey’s asking his date after breakfast too.”

Brendon raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Who is it?” Pete asked. “You never told me you were asking someone.”

Mikey sat on his hands. “I guess you’ll just to find out after breakfast.” 

Once breakfast was done, Gabe dragged the three of them over to the Cabin 5 boys. 

“Hey Gabe,” William greeted him. “What’s up?” 

Mikey watched as Gabe instantly froze. “Hi, uh, William. Will. Bill.” 

Mikey looked over to Pete and Brendon who were doubled over in laughter. Mikey was turning beet red trying not to join them. 

Fortunately, William didn’t seem to notice. “Hi,” he said, smiling. “I actually had a question for you. Y’know the dance on Friday?”

Gabe swallowed. “I know of it.”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go with me? I mean, if you were planning on going,” William said. 

Gabe’s eyes turned to saucers. “What? Really? I mean- yeah! Of course! I’d love to.” 

“Sweet, I gotta go back to my cabin, but I’ll see you later, ‘kay?” William then began to walk away.

“Okay,” Gabe sighed after him, all the color draining from his face. 

Brendon walked up to him and placed his hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “On the bright side, he probably thinks you look cute when you’re embarrassed.”

“Fuck off,” Gabe replied before turning to Mikey. “It’s your turn.”

After Gabe’s disaster, Mikey wasn’t sure that asking out Pete could go that badly, but he still didn’t wanna do it. He shook his head. 

“C’mon, don’t wimp out now,” Gabe said, “It couldn’t go any worse than  _ that.”  _

Mikey opened his mouth but no sound came out. It was like his lungs were filled with sand. “I- I- I’m sorry!” He then turned tail and ran into the cabin.

Mikey buried himself inside his sleeping bag for what felt like hours, too embarrassed to move. He listened to the other campers slowly filing into the cabin before the went out on their morning activities, but he didn’t move. He was pretty sure that they didn’t know he was there. 

“Dude, you okay under there?” a voice said from outside Mikey’s sleeping bag nest. Pete. 

Mikey didn’t reply, he didn’t even move. 

“Seriously,” Pete said, “You have to come out. Hal’s gonna take us to the lake to go canoeing in like five minutes.” Pete then yanked the sleeping bag off of Mikey’s head and leaned down to look him in the eye. “What’s going on in there? You totally freaked out back there.” 

“I’m sorry,” Mikey finally said, “I just couldn’t do it.” 

“Do what? Ask whoever to the dance?” Pete laughed. “Who the hell cares? We’re kids and it’s camp, most of the people here are never going to speak to each other again.”

A thought suddenly occurred to Mikey. “Pete, will we speak to each other? After we leave here, I mean?” 

“I sure hope so. I want to,” Pete told him. “Do you?”

“Of course.” Mikey took a deep breath. “I’m gonna do it.” 

“Do what?” Pete asked. 

“Ask who I want to the dance. Pete, do you wanna go to the dance with me?” 

Pete’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ of shock. “I- Wha- Really? Me?”

Mikey nodded. 

Pete then tackled him back on the bed in an enormous bear hug. “I’d love to! Holy shit Mikeyway, I’d love to!”

“Weren’t you not planning on not going?” Mikey asked. 

“I just said that ‘cause I thought you’d never ask me,” Pete admitted. 

They lay there for a few moments, arms wrapped around each other, until Hal called them out to go canoeing. 

  
  


Mikey and Pete buddied up in order to get a canoe together. Hal had jammed everyone into life vests and Pete looked extremely cute in his blue vest that came up to his ears. Brendon and Gabe were already taking advantage of the extra padding by having a chest bump contest. Gabe landed on his ass in the sand and Brendon rolled over into the grass. 

“Gabriel! Brendon! Stop that!” Hal said. 

Pete shook his head and sighed. “Hal is gonna have an aneurysm before this thing is over.”

“Camp?” Mikey asked. 

“The canoe trip.” 

The cabin paddled out into the lake, disturbing the quiet with splashes and chatter. It wasn’t long before Pete slapped his paddle on the water, splattering MIkey with droplets. 

“This means war, asshole!” Mikey yelled, slapping his paddle down even harder and spraying Pete with even more water. 

“You asked for it, Way!” 

Mikey learned exactly what ‘asked for it’ meant when Pete lept up from his seat and tackled Mikey from behind, effectively capsizing the canoe. “You’re gonna make us drown, you asshole!” Mikey spluttered when he came up for air.

“We’re wearing life jackets!” Pete retorted. He was still clinging to Mikey’s back. 

Mikey sighed. “I can’t believe you decided you were gonna tackle me in a canoe. You’re a dumbass.”

“Or I just love you that much,” Pete said. 

“What happened?” Hal asked, paddling up in his kayak. His voice was spiking with anxiety. “Are you two okay?”

“We capsized,” Mikey said, “His fault.” He motioned back at Pete. 

Hal sighed. “Get your canoe flipped back over. You two can paddle back to shore then get changed.” 

“Poor Hal,” Mikey commented as Hal paddled away. “Y’know that aneurysm you were talking about? He probably just had it.” 

“Probably,” Pete agreed. 

  
  


“Laundry, laundry, laundry, laundry,” Pete sang as he picked his dirty clothes off the floor. “It’s time to do my laundry so I won’t smell bad.” 

“Smelling bad is only one of your problems,” Brendon commented, clapping his hands over his ears. 

“It’s laundry dayyyyyy,” Pete concluded, ignoring Brendon and hoisting his laundry basket off the floor and balancing it on his hip. 

Mikey looked up from the comic he was reading. “Shit, do you have some extra room in there? I had some stuff that I forgot to wash.” 

Pete smiled. “Sure. Just bring it up.” He then began to sing again, “Doing the laundryyyyyy, doing the laundryyyyyy with Mikeywayyyyy.” 

“Seriously,” Brendon called, “Stop.” 

“I’m doing laundry, and Brendon Boyd Urie can suck my diiiiiick,” Pete continued before waltzing out the door, Mikey following close behind. 

“Thirty minutes for laundry?” Pete asked. “That’s way too short. These clothes aren’t going to really be clean.” 

“We might as well wait here,” Mikey suggested. “Won’t have to make as many trips back and forth that way.” 

“Alright,” Pete agreed, jumping up and plopping down on top of a washing machine. The laundry room was completely empty except for Pete and Mikey, and the sound of the machines drowned out any outside noise. 

“Mikey?” Pete said suddenly. 

“Mmm?” 

“You still wanna go with me to the dance, right?” 

“Of course.”

“And you asked me because you like me, right? Like, like-like me?”

Mikey laughed. “What is this? Fifth grade?”

“Stop it,” Pete said, whacking Mikey’s shoulder. “Can you c’mere a sec?”

Mikey moved over to stand in front of the washing machine, facing Pete whose legs were dangling off the machine. 

“You’re really pretty, you know that?” Pete said, brushing a strand of hair out of Mikey’s face. 

“And now we’re in a romcom,” Mikey said, laughing. 

“Would you quit? I’m trying to be romantic here and you keep ruining it.” Pete then placed his hands on Mikey’s shoulders and out of the blue he asked, “Can I kiss you?”

All of the air instantly left Mikey’s lungs, and all he could do was nod wordlessly. 

And then Pete was kissing him. Pete’s lips were warm and slightly chapped against Mikey’s and left him tingling from his face to his toes. Mikey brought his hand up to Pete’s face and Pete crossed his legs behind Mikey’s back, bringing them closer. They broke apart panting. 

“Holy shit,” Mikey said. 

“Holy shit,” Pete repeated. 

“We just broke every PDA rule there is,” Mikey said. 

“It’s not PDA if we’re not in public,” Pete pointed out. 

“Someone could’ve walked in and seen us.”

“But they didn’t.” 

“Someone could still walk in and see us.”

“But we’re not kissing now.”

“But we could be.”

“Do you want to be kissing right now?”

“Absolutely.”

“Awesome.” 

  
  


The dance rolled around quicker than anyone expected, and on Friday night everyone was walking in a mass to the pavilion in order to take part. The girls were all in sundresses and sandals, some even wore flower crowns. All were dressed to impress, unlike virtually any of the boys, Mikey included. 

“Nice pants,” Brendon said, raising an eyebrow. 

“They’re what I always wear,” Mikey retorted. 

“Exactly. You’re supposed to dress nice. It’s a  _ dance,”  _ Brendon said pointedly. 

“Who the fuck cares?” Gabe butted in. “It’s camp. We’re outdoors all the damn time, the best you can hope for is that we put on deodorant for this thing.” 

Brendon snorted. “Says the dude wearing neon pink jeans.” 

“At least I’m not wearing jorts,” Gabe replied, nodding over at Parker. “Or a tuxedo shirt.” 

“Hey, I’m making an attempt,” Pete said, stepping out from behind the bunk, in what was revealed to be, in fact, a tuxedo shirt. He grinned over at Mikey. “You ready?” 

Mikey nodded, standing up and taking Pete’s hand. He could feel Hal’s glare on his back, but he didn’t pay attention. It was a dance; there was allowed to be  _ some  _ PDA. 

“Now, you’re allowed to dance with each other, even slowdance, considering that you’re older than thirteen. Just make sure to save room for Jesus,” Hal reminded them as they exited the cabin. 

“I’ll save room for Jesus when I’m in hell,” Gabe muttered and Brendon began to chant, “Y-M-C-A, Y-M-C-A,” under his breath. 

The four of them joined the flood of kids, but soon Pete and Mikey were left alone with Gabe and Brendon disappearing to look for their respective dates. by the time they reached the pavilion, it was already stuffed past capacity. Mikey and Pete could barely move as they shuffled around inside, clinging to each other's arms. The pavilion stank with the sweat of 200-some unwashed teenagers, and the two of them were constantly jostled around, bouncing between hips and shoulders. 

“We’re never going to be able to dance like this,” Pete sighed, looking around.

“We should leave,” Mikey suggested, “Just hang out in the cabin instead.”

Pete’s face fell. “But I did want to dance with you.” 

“We can dance somewhere else,” Mikey said, “C’mon.” He tugged on Pete’s hand and pulled him out of the pavilion. 

They moved through the cooling evening air away from the crowd of campers and counselors and down towards the lake. Their feet scraped on the stones as they tried to keep their balance on the slope. 

“We can still hear the music from down here,” Pete said, looking back up towards the pavilion. 

“That’s the idea,” Mikey said. He took Pete’s other hand, and they moved together, dancing alone on the shore with the sound of the water lapping behind him. 

When a slow song came on, Pete wrapped his arm around Mikey’s neck and pulled him down so that their noses were touching. 

“Save room for Jesus,” Mikey whispered, a lopsided smile forming on his face. 

“I’ll save room for Jesus when I’m in hell,” Pete said, quoting Gabe’s words from earlier. He then pressed his lips to Mikey’s and left them there. 

“I’m gonna miss you. More than I should, probably,” Mikey said when they broke apart. “I’ve only known you for three weeks. Less than that.” 

“What can I say?” Pete giggled. “I’m just that wonderful.”

“You are,” Mikey agreed.

“You are too.” 

“I know.” 

“We should go back,” Pete said, “To the cabin, I mean.”

“Not yet,” Mikey responded. “Let’s just wait a little while. I don’t want to go back yet.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Pete agreed. 

They sat down on the shore with their palms in the sand, pinkies just touching. They watched as the last rays of sunlight disappeared below the horizon and the stars began to fill the sky. Then, without a sound, they got up and walked back to the cabin, their arms wound around each other’s waists as if they would fall off if they let go. 

  
  


The last day of camp basically consisted of everyone milling around the cabins, waiting for their parents to show up. Some were saying tearful goodbyes, some were just sitting around, pretending that they weren’t leaving. Mikey was playing Pokemon Silver on his DS with Pete’s head on his shoulder when his mom walked in the cabin. 

“Mom!” Mikey exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and racing over to her. 

“Hey Mikey,” she said, pulling him into a hug. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“Did you have fun?” she asked. 

Mikey nodded, looking over at Pete who had appeared at his side. “Lots of fun.”

“Who’s this?” his mom asked, looking over at Pete. 

“Pete Wentz, ma’am,” Pete introduced himself. “Are you Mikey’s mom?”

“That I am.”

“That must mean you were the one who made the brownies.  Good job on them, they were delicious,” Pete said, giving her a winning smile. 

“Why thank you!” Mikey’s mom responded. 

Pete thought for a moment. “That also means you made Mikeyway. Good job on him, he’s amazing.” He grinned sheepishly. 

Mikey’s mom burst out laughing. “Wow, Mikey. He is quite the charmer.” 

As embarrassing as it was, Mikey was silently thanking god that Pete hadn’t said ‘Good job on him, he’s delicious.’ Mikey rolled his eyes, and then widened them. “Pete, you have to give me your number,” he exclaimed, grabbing Pete by the wrist. 

“Oh shit, yeah, I forgot,” Pete said, “I’ll put it in your phone.” 

“My phone’s in my duffle bag,” Mikey told him, “Just write it on my arm.” Mikey dug a pen out of his back pocket and handed it to Pete.

Pete bent down and started writing. Mikey felt the smooth ballpoint glide over his skin, marking the numbers that Mikey was sure to use as soon as he got home. His mom walked over to the bed to pull his duffle and sleeping bag off of it before dragging his stuff back over to him. 

“I’m going to go sign you out, okay?” she said. By the time Mikey’s mom disappeared out the cabin door, Pete still wasn’t done writing. 

“Jesus Christ,” Mikey said, “How long is your number?”

“Hang on,” Pete told him. “Done.” 

Pete stood up and Mikey looked at his arm. Pete’s phone number was written there a dozen or more times. 

“Why’d you write it so many times?” Mikey asked. 

“I really,  _ really  _ want you to call me,” Pete confessed. “You will, won’t you?” 

“Of course,” Mikey laughed.

“And you won’t forget me, either?” Pete asked, grabbing Mikey’s shoulders. “Please don’t forget me.”

“I won’t forget you, Pete,” Mikey told him, “You’re too memorable.” 

Pete then yanked him in by the shoulders and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. “I’m gonna miss you,” Pete murmured into Mikey’s hair. 

“I’m gonna miss you, too,” Mikey murmured back. 

“Will you be here next summer?” Pete asked. 

“You can count on it,” Mikey replied. 

“Good.”

The hug lasted for a long time with the two of them rocking back and forth, completely enveloped in each other’s arms. Pete finally broke them apart only to lean in and kiss Mikey on the nose. “I’ll see you next summer, okay?” Pete said. 

Mikey nodded. “Okay.” 

“Ready to go?” his mom said, walking in the cabin door. “You’re all signed out.” 

Mikey ran over to hug Gabe and Brendon goodbye. “Bye Gabe, bye Brendon,” Mikey said. “My friends have never been weirder.” 

“Mine neither,” Brendon laughed. 

“I wish I could say the same,” Gabe sighed. “But I’m gonna miss you either way.”

“Same here,” Mikey said before running back over to Pete to give him one last peck on the lips, silently praying that his mother wouldn’t mention it. He took his sleeping back from his mother as they walked out the door, only to be stopped by Hal just outside the cabin. 

“So,” Hal said, “You finally leaving?”

“Yep.” Mikey nodded. 

“Did you have fun?” Hal asked. 

“More than you know,” MIkey responded. 

“I have a few ideas,” Hal told him. 

“Did you have fun?” Mikey asked. 

“Well, to be honest Mikey Way, this cabin made my life a living hell, particularly your little foursome,” Hal admitted. Mikey could feel his mother’s glare on his back. “But it was the most interesting hell I’ve ever been in. So, go forth and prosper, I guess.”

“You too, man,” Mikey replied. “See ya.”

“See ya,” Hal repeated, waving as Mikey and his mom walked away. 


End file.
